Harry Potter and the Power of Ancients
by noddwyd
Summary: Petunia has been hospitalized, so Harry has no protection in Vernon's home, unbeknownst to him. The Order is oblivious, for at least the first few days, and Harry has to find away to survive in the house alone with his Uncle.
1. Death

I don't own this stuff. really. and there would be no point in suing me anyway.  
  
========  
  
AN: This begins after Petunia is sent to the hospital with stress related complications;(note that he couldn't really be  
  
hurt by Vernon if Petunia is there, which is why she isn't) Her Dudders was caught doing  
  
drugs with his little gang, among other things, and she just couldn't handle that information.   
  
And of course, Vernon blames Harry for every last bit of it. I don't know if I'll even attempt to continue or if it's  
  
just a one shot.  
  
Harry woke up to almost total darkness, only a few slivers of light getting throug the cracks in the door to the cupboard  
  
under the stairs. He tried to get up, but found that as he was crammed into the small space along with his trunk he  
  
couldn't really move unless he opened the door, which he couldn't move his arm far enough to do. No. He would have to  
  
wait until morning when his aunt or uncle opened it for him. Somehow though, Harry didn't think he'd have been able to  
  
drag himself out of the cupboard anyway, he was in so much pain after the beating his uncle gave him. But he also did  
  
not want to go back to sleep and face his nightmares. So Harry just lay there staring into the darkness, and occasionally  
  
turning his head to look at the small sliver of moonlight entering through the crack. Idly he wondered which phase the moon  
  
was in and whether or not Professor Lupin had gone through one of his transformations yet again. He tried to focus on  
  
Lupin, and all the things he had taught him, but his thoughts always somehow returned to his godfather. Sirius. The man  
  
who had escaped from Azkaban to protect him from his parents' traitor, Wormtail. The man who had become his family. The  
  
only family he had. And what did he get for it. Locked away in his own house, which was almost as effective at bringing  
  
back bad memories as a dementor, and then killed by the very person whom he had broken out of prison to save. Killed by   
  
Harry's irrationality and his foolishness to believe in a vision which Voldemort himself had constructed and sent to him   
  
as a 'gift'.   
  
And now here he was, back in his cupboard again. Only this time he was too big for it, and with having to lie on top of   
  
his school things it was, he imagined, about like what lying in a coffin must feel like. He had barely managed to get his  
  
invisibility cloak out of his trunk from underneath him in order to have something to keep warm with, although not without  
  
cutting himself on the broken shards of the mirror Sirius had given him. He couldn't really assess the damage to his hand  
  
and arm in the dark, but he imagined it must have been pretty bad, as he was starting to feel lightheaded even after he had  
  
wrapped his hand up in the folds of the cloak. He thought about calling for help, but he knew no one would hear him from  
  
in here, except perhaps the spiders. So instead he gave up fighting sleep, and decided to let the nightmares take him,   
  
finally deciding that he deserved them, and that he deserved to be locked up under the Dursley's stairs like something that   
  
everyone should be ahsamed of. Like the sewage that runs under the house and out to the street. That he deserved to be  
  
beaten as he had been by Vernon, and burned with that iron and the boiling hot water which had dripped out of it onto his  
  
face and even into one of his eyes, which he could no longer see out of. Somehow, thinking all this, the pain he felt   
  
started to feel lessened somehow, and so when this happened he forced himself to focus exclusively on the pain, which also  
  
lessened the intensity of his nightmares.   
  
----  
  
Harry awoke again to the bright light from the door of the cupboard being opened, and Vernon shouting at him for causing  
  
such a huge mess with his disgusting and 'infected' blood and couldn't help but scream as Vernon grabbed his bloody cloak  
  
away from his hand and used what he guessed must have been the same iron to seal the wound, apparently so that he   
  
wouldn't make any more mess on the carpet, where blood had leaked outside the door.   
  
He then slammed the door shut again and told Harry that as punishment for making the mess, he would be locked in there for  
  
the next week without food or water, and that if he hoped to survive he'd better use his freakish abilities to do it, so  
  
that he'd be expelled from his school and hopefully they'd come and take Harry to prison, so he could finally be rid of   
  
him. Then he heard ripping noises, and Vernon cursing about something. He could only assume his invisibility cloak was  
  
being destroyed. Somehow at that point Harry really didn't care. It was almost funny. Had Vernon known exactly how much  
  
gold he could get for that cloak, he probably would have tried frantically to piece it back together.   
  
The next few days were the worst Harry had ever endured. He never tried to ask for water after the first time, when Vernon  
  
had threatened to 'Make absolutely certain he would never procreate', despite how much he needed the life giving liquid.   
  
It was in the third day that he began having to fight just to be able to breathe at all. He felt so weak that he didn't   
  
think he could have done magic to conjure any water anyway. But somehow...miraculously, he thought, or maybe he was just  
  
delusional...a slow, steady drip begain falling from the ceiling in the cupboard, he imagined, he couldn't open his eyes,  
  
and was rolling down his face, and into his mouth, slowly. After that, everything went black. 


	2. Life

Ancients Chapter 2  
  
disclaimer: I don't own harry potter or anything like that.  
  
When Harry woke up again, he could no longer feel anything of his body. He couldn't open his eyes, but he was somehow consious and able to sense his surroundings faintly. He was submerged in something that glowed all around him, in a greenish tint. It felt like....blood? No. Life.  
  
He immediately felt an affirmative response from someone or something that was hovering above him. The response was not verbal, however, it just seemed to wash over his mind like waves in the ocean.  
  
He couldn't really make out what the person looked like, as his glasses were gone, and he was pretty sure he was supposed to be blind at this point. This time, he recieved a negative response, and the message, this time, formed as words in his mind.  
  
'No, little one. Your body has been healed, and strengthened. You are in the lifestream now. Not many people have ever come here with their bodies still intact. Most people only leave their spirit to re-enter the lifestream, and their soul and the main portion of their consiousness moves on. I need your help, though. It has been many thousands of years since I was forced to use Weapons against human beings, and I don't want to do it again. You have to understand that I love you, and I don't want to hurt them, or you, but they're hurting me. and if I don't do something they'll kill me, and as a consequense, themselves.'  
  
Harry was speechless. He was in the lifestream? What did that mean? And he was healed? He certainly couldn't tell, it felt like he was separated from his body at the moment. He couldn't feel it at all. And what did she mean by Weapon. He could tell now it was a female voice, and she was distraught and in pain. And if there was anything that Harry didn't like, it was a girl's crying, which she had to be fighting at the moment.  
  
'And can you believe that now they think they can abandon me, and just leave me to die? That's why I created 'wizards', as you call them. They've protected me for a long time, but now, they've forgotten themselves, and are only using their powers selfishly, hiding from the rest of the world in fear, while the rest of the human race is destroying everything in order to wield the same powers, and most of them don't even realize it......'  
  
Harry stared. He'd never heard of any of this before. Were wizards really created for a purpose? He realized he'd never questions the origins of such things as magic before.  
  
'I'm sorry', she said. 'I've just been upset. You would never intentionally hurt me if you could help it, would you Harry? I know you killed that Basilisk, and that hurt, but he was hurting your friends, and I know what it's like to watch friends die.'  
  
'H-How did you know that? And I still don't know who you are. You said you created us. Are you God?'  
  
He felt her smiling at him, rather than saw it. things were still kind of blurry, and he let this slip across his mental barrier to her.  
  
'Oh! You're having trouble seeing me, aren't you? I'm sorry, its been so long since I conversed with someone like this...I usually only talk to trees and other magical creatures.' And suddenly things became clearer. Harry realized that the reason he couldn't see before was that an intensly bright light had been surrounding everything. Slowly he focused on the presense in front of him, and made out one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. Long white hair flowed behind her in the liquid, and her eyes glowed an almost blindingly bright green color, which seemed to match with the lifestream around them. If this girl wasn't a goddess, then there simply could be no describing her, and he let this thought cross between them.  
  
She giggled a bit. 'Thank you, Harry.' she sighed, and then her gaze turned darker. 'You don't look so bad yourself, although you have been wounded in more than just your body', she said. 'I can heal everything except your heart and soul, those are beyond my reach. But I want you to know that, even after you wake up back in your body in your wizard's hospital, I'll always be with you, and the power and knowledge that has passed through the lifestream will be with you as well, as long as you live. I am actually the earth itself.'  
  
Harry's eyes bulged as he expressed his shock. 'Is this really for real, or am I delusional. I haven't had water for several days now, I know...and yet this all feels so real.'  
  
she reached out and kissed his forehead next to his scar, and he actually felt this touch, as if he were really in his body. 'It's real. And I'm real. People call me lots of things. Mother. Gaia. and of course Earth. And, once upon a time, I knew a man who called me Marion.' Suddenly her eyes looked distant and sad, yet happy at the same time.  
  
'So you really created wizardkind?' he asked, finally starting to take some of what she had said in.  
  
'Well, I wouldn't say 'created'. More like I gave birth to the first 'wizards'. Twins, actually. But the blood has weakened over the years, since of course they learned to live with the other people, and even taught them some of their abilities. Wizards don't do that anymore. That's why I need you. You have to end what mankind set into motion over 1000 years ago, and reunite the two worlds. You have to understand Harry. Only together will you survive now. The damage has gone too far, and I will begin to fade soon. I've had to give up so much just to survive this long. And they don't know it, but the rest of the world has lost many things too. The few things I've saved from the Ancient Days are hidden within the wizarding world in a vault, somewhere deep within the earth, which only you can open. You'll know how, when you see it. You can use that to end your fight with Voldemort, and then I will contact you again. But my powers are weaker than they used to be, and I have to go now. I love you, Harry, my descendent. And I know I will see you again. Good luck.'  
  
with that she faded into the lifestream, and Harry felt like he was rushed upwards as he slammed into his body, causing him to jump in his skin, which made him realize he was back in his body, and not any longer in his cupboard. Harry was relieved to feel that he was completely healed, just as the woman had told him, but then he realized all the other things she had said, and all that had happened in the past few months, and suddenly a crushing weight landed on his chest, pulling his heart down into his stomach. Suddenly he felt so small. He was worthless. Why did that woman think he could help her. There was nothing he could do to stop Voldemort. He'd only get everyone around him killed. Just like Sirius. And Cedric. And almost Hermione as well....Hermione....But the prophecy said he had to fight him.  
  
For a long time...Harry lay in the hospital bed in St. Mungo's, trying to come up with a solution. Coldness crept through him slowly, as if the cold clammy hands of a dementor were touching his heart and frosting it over. Finally, he remembered what else that woman had said to him. Something about a vault. Avault deep within the earth....He could find the power to destroy Voldemort there. And then after that he could destroy himself and no one could be killed because of him anymore. 


	3. stay with me

disclaimer: I don't own either harry potter or final fantasy, and I hope no one is offended too badly by this story.  
  
Harry, having decided his course of action, finally started to really take in his surroundings. He was in a hospital bed,  
with the curtains drawn, but judging from what he could see of the ceiling, he was in Hogwarts, probably under the care of Madam Pomfrey. He could also hear faint voices from outside the curtain...  
  
"..a miracle he's still alive, Albus! What possible reason could you have for leaving him there if you knew there was possible abuse! Which could have been going on for how many years now? fifteen? And now he's been beaten beyond what any normal wizard should survive, and left to die in that cupboard, which he used to sleep in Albus, I saw the words carved into the back wall 'Hary's Room', which he obviously magicked there because the wall around it is evidence enough that they tried removing the words. And he never mentions it to anyone, and you know why? He probably thinks most of it is a normal thing! He obviously learned to blame himself for everything from their treatment of him! They think of him as a freak, lesser than human, and he probably believes it now on some level!..."  
  
Harry had never heard Professor Lupin so upset about anything before, which at this point seemed odd to Harry, he'd never been asked before what his life was like with the Dursley's in any detail at all. He heard the ex-Professor continue speaking, this time in a more broken voice.  
  
"Lily and James...Lily..." he stopped and sobbed for a bit "..they didn't die for this. They died so Harry could live, not for him to survive in such a horrible existence!" and with that he heard footsteps and a door closing roughly.  
  
What followed truly shocked Harry. He heard someone sit heavily, and begin to cry. and then the headmaster's voice came through the curtains very faintly...  
  
"I have failed them. All of them. I wanted to protect Harry, but in doing so, I've destroyed him."  
  
Harry peeked through the curtains to see the headmaster sitting on one of the hospital beds, facing away from him. If he wanted he could sneak out, but considering what he had just heard, he felt obligated to let Dumbledore know that he was still very much alive and still intent on killing Voldemort, despite anything Vernon had done.  
  
Harry got up from the bed easily, noticing as he stood that he felt much lighter on his feet, and, somehow, much stronger than he'd ever felt before. He pulled back the curtain, catching the attention of the headmaster, who appeared shocked as Harry walked over to him, sitting on the bed across from Dumbledore so they could talk.  
  
"...Harry?" the old man finally said. "Harry, but...how did you recover so quickly, Poppy said there would be permenant damage? You look as if nothing happened at all..."  
  
"Well, I'm not sure. I had a strange dream while I was sleeping. Not induced by Voldemort," he said, interpreting the look on Dumbledore's face. "No, this was definitely different, although that's all I can say for sure."  
  
"Harry I'm sorry I ever left you with the Dursley's, obviously I should have taken some alternate action to protect you,  
seeing as this plan failed so miserably-"  
  
"I don't need an apology, Professor. I'm still alive to kill Voldemort, and that's all that matters, right?"  
  
Suddenly fire flared next to Harry and Fawkes appeared in midair, perching on Harry's shoulder, trilling sadly. The sound of Fawkes' voice, which had been soothing to Harry in the past, was causing a dull ache in Harry's chest instead.  
  
The tears rolling down Fawkes' beak caused Harry to remember something from back in the cupboard...  
  
"It was you who saved me, wasn't it, Fawkes? Thank you. I suppose you took me to her as well?" Fawkes trilled in the affirmative. "I'm glad. Despite how much I wish I could have just died there in the cupboard, I never wanted to leave the world to suffer under Voldemort, and considering I'm the only one who can kill him, dying then wasn't an option. It can wait till later." Fawkes began to look sad again, and Dumbledore simply looked very old and tired, and stressed out. "She mentioned a vault though, Fawkes, did she mean in Gringotts? I don't have any kind of key or anything," he said, looking to the headmaster, "Or do I, sir?"  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "Until you are of age, Harry, no. The goblin's are holding your family's vault intil then. May I ask who 'she' is? You keep referring to someone, does this have to do with how you seem to be completely healed?"  
  
"To answer your last question, yes, I believe so. And as for who 'she' is, I don't think I'm quite sure how to explain that. For now I'll just say she is my ancestor, and from the way she talked, the mother of all wizard kind. Would it be possible for me to be emancipated, sir? I'm sure the Dursley's treatment of me could make a good enough case for it. We really don't have time to wait for me to reach seventeen do we? Considering how many people will die between now and the time you decide I'm old enough to fight this battle I'm already fighting for the past five years, no, scratch that, fifteen years. I've been on borrowed time since that day, professor. You and I both know I don't really stand a chance at killing this man and walking away. The best I can hope for is that we both take each other out. He's got what, almost fifty years on me? That crap you came up with about love, I have to wonder sir, did you really expect me to believe that? I don't have any clue what love is, how can it be some great power I have that Voldemort doesn't?"  
  
Harry got up and began to pace.  
  
"Actually, I think you do know, Harry. Were it not for you're love for Sirius, you would probably not be alive to worry about the rest of us, which also proves you have love in your heart, for the whole world. I believe there is a little love in any relationship though. With friends and comrades you wish to protect them, and spend time with them and do things for their sake. It is this mutual support of each other that allows us to have the great civilization that we have. With lovers it is very much like friendship, only things are probably increased above the normal desire to protect and be next to them. It is a powerful force which makes lives and destroys them, unfortunately. But with a strong enough bond, nothing could tear you away from those you love, not even death. Harry, Sirius will always be with you, he will always be a part of you because you did love him. Your parents are no different."  
  
Harry had stopped to listen to Dumbledore's speech and was fighting back his pain over what he'd done to Sirius, but he had a mission, he could wallow in his pain after Voldemort was dead. And with a firm resolve Harry turned to Fawkes.  
  
"Can you take me to Gringotts? To my family's vault?"  
  
"Harry, no, you are not in any condition to fight him now." said Dumbledore quite vehemently.  
  
Harry turned to Dumbledore. "What?" he asked, with genuine confusion showing on his face. "I'm ready now. I understand,  
finally, why I'm here. I'm supposed to be a weapon, right? Just a weapon for you to use against Voldemort. I wasn't meant to live, the prophecy says so. 'Neither can live while the other survives..?' I'm not really alive at all, then. And neither is he. Actually I don't think he's really been alive for a long time now. I know Remus told you I used to sleep in the cupboard. It's true. They were ashamed to have a freak like me living in their house, and rightly so. I'm even a freak by wizarding standards, and you know it. So why are you telling me all this now? I don't care. I just want it to end. I want him to die, so that I can rest in peace."  
  
Harry said all of this very calmly, and with an almost vacant, and very deadened look in his eyes.  
  
Unbeknownst to Harry, another person had heard the entire conversation, and, knowing the symptoms Harry was showing, decided to try and do something about it.  
  
"Harry?..."  
  
Harry heard the voice and turned quickly to find Hermione standing behind him. How had he not noticed her? He quickly recovered from the surprise and smiled.  
  
"Hello Hermione. What are you doing here?"  
  
Hermione flinched, slightly, but then answered.  
  
"Harry, that isn't funny, I heard everything you just said, now stop acting like everything is okay."  
  
"What? Aren't I allowed to be happy to see my best friend?"  
  
"Harry you aren't happy and that smile isn't fooling me. I'm not blind you know!"  
  
"Hermione, what are you talking about," he said, still smiling, "Everything is fine. I was just about to go and save the world by killing Voldemort and dying all in one swing."  
  
That was it for her. That smile coupled with the dead look in his eyes made her break down. With tears rolling down her face, she reached up and grabbed Harry by the shoulders. "No, Harry, wake up. This isn't you. Please... please come back to me!" she sobbed, and as the first of her tears hit the floor, Harry collapsed, pulling Hermione with him, to the floor.  
  
"It hurts...it hurts so much Hermione...I can't do this...it's too heavy." he sobbed. "They all left me...my parents left me... the Dursley's never wanted me... Sirius...I killed Sirius, and I got you hurt, too."  
  
She pulled him closer to her.  
  
"Don't worry. I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere. You have to let me help, Harry. Everyone will help."  
  
"You're not alone," she wispered in his ear. "I love you, Harry, and I'm staying. I'm not going to leave you alone."  
  
Suddenly he pushed her away. "No! Please stop! I can't. Everyone just leaves..." Harry sobbed. "I can't have love.  
right?" he asked of no one in particular.  
  
Hermione reached up and turned Harry's head to face her. "You're wrong Harry. Everyone deserves love. Especially you, Harry. You've given me so much, you know. I couldn't thank Quirrel enough for setting that troll loose, because it brought me you. You saved me, Harry. Ron told me that it was you who thought of me, you know. I wouldn't be alive now without you.  
You became my friend, when no one else would, and you taught me to trust in my heart, rather than following the rules," she said with a smile through her tears. "I do love you Harry, and nothing is going to change that, so please, stay here with me, and we can live, together we can, if we can't do it alone."  
  
and with that she closed her eyes and brought her lips to his.  
  
The kiss, Harry noted, was quite different from the time Cho had kissed him, despite that this time there were still tears. In fact, he had to admit, it was quite simply the best thing that had ever happened to him, and he tightened their embrace, turning to bury his face in her hair.  
  
As the two embraced, something else was happening, however, much to the shock of the headmaster. The floor had begun to ripple outward from where the two teens were knealing on the floor, and they slowly sank through, oblivious. 


	4. a new life

disclaimer: see 1st chapter. don't own HP. don't own FF. just the story.

Needless to say, Dumbledore shouted to Fawkes to follow them, and the phoenix dissapeared with a burst of flame and an amused squawk. 

Fawkes re-appeared in the lifestream, where the two teens were just coming to realize they weren't in Hogwarts anymore.

The first thing Harry noticed was that the brilliance which Marion had shown before wasn't there, and somehow he knew it was not because she was suppressing it this time. Hermione was just in shock.

"Harry, I'm sorry for calling you back so soon, but it seems the Planet is rejecting me now, and I'm losing my power. Judging from the look of you two, I think I know why. I have to do this quickly, before I lose everything. Harry, I changed your body earlier so can't transfer all the power to you. But I have to pass it on, otherwise the planet will almost certainly call up its naturaldefences again, something which no one can stand against. Mankind would be wiped out if they were awakened. I can give you both some powers now, but the rest you will have to find on your own if you're going to save this world. They will be hidden in many places all over the planet, but I can tell you that there is still a cache of them hidden beneath the school. It's the reason why the magic flows so freely in this area, probably why the castle was built over it. But enough of that, I haven't got enough time. Will you both accept this responsibility?"

Marion looked at them, pleeding with her eyes. 

"Please. I'm dying, and everything will be destroyed..." she said sadly.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other, and both knew what the other would answer. They walked, hand in hand, over to Marion, and took her hand in theirs, forming a triangle. 

"If what you say is true then we have no choice. And I trust you. If it weren't for you and Fawkes I wouldn't still be here."

She smiled. "Thank you, Harry." She turned to face Hermione, who was beginning to recover from her shock. "And thank you, Hermione. If not for you, then I never could have passed on the power in time. Take care of him for me."

Hermione smiled, and nodded. 

Then, a blinding white light flared where Harry and Marion's hands were clasped, which only faded after a few minutes. 

Marion let out a very relieved sigh. "Thank you. Now I can rest, and see my husband again. I'll look forward to meeting you two there as well, but not for a while, okay? Goodbye, I'll be watching over you two..." and with that, she slowly faded into the lifestream.

Harry and Hermione stood for a time, numb at everything that had happened, and Marion's departure.

"I don't feel any different really." said Hermione. "Well, I am a bit stronger than before, but I guess that could just be from the healing she did before." said Harry. "And how do we get out of here?"

In answer, Fawkes landed on his shoulder. "Fawkes! Can you help us to Dumbledore? He's probably worried about us." he trilled in the affirmative and they reappeared in the Headmaster's Office.

After they left, however, the usually green lifestream began to change color at the point where Marion had departed. It was becoming a bright red, and slowly forming itself into the shape of a man. The man was tall, muscular, with long silver hair,  
and blazing green eyes, almost as bright as Marion's. The eyes narrowed, and the man took in his surroundings. 'Things are definitely different', he thought to himself, as he looked down at himself. 'Well, first thing's first. Need some clothes...' And with a loud crack he promptly dissapeared. 

--

"Harry, what just happened, and how did you two teleport with no portkey and without Fawkes' help?"

"Well, sir, It was Marion's doing. She claimed to be the Earth itself, or at least the goddess over it. And she transferred the power to us now, because she was dying. I still don't feel that much different yet though. I guess I'll figure it out eventually..."

Hermione spoke up. "Sir, we were in the lifestream...it was real! I thought that was just an old fairy tale!"

Comprehension seemed to dawn in the headmaster's eyes. "Ah, I see. This is most interesting... According to the legends, there has not been a God living among mankind for several millenia. But if she did transfer her power to you, then you should have complete control over them already."

"She said that some of them had scattered across the planet, and if we plan to save the world, then we'll have to go find them. She also said that some of them had been hidden beneath the school, so that's a start, at least." A thought suddenly occured to Harry. "Do you think they could be somewhere in the chamber of secrets? She mentioned a vault before."

"It is entirely possible that they are in the Chamber of Secrets, but if so I should think that Salazar would have flaunted such great power, and there is no mention of such a thing. No, I suspect that it is deeper in the earth, Harry, somewhere that has not been disturbed for several thousand years." Dumbledore smiled, surveying Harry and Hermione. "I think now, that the two of you together truly do have the power to vanquish the Dark Lord. We shall search the Chamber tomorrow. For now, some rest would be good for both of you. You can go up to Gryffindor Common Room if you wish, the password is Jinn."

And with that he returned to his office, leaving Harry and Hermione shellshocked behind him. 

"I can't believe what just happened..." said Hermione, staring off into space, as they made their way to the common room.  
"...Neither can I actually." said Harry. But then he smiled. "But for the first time, I understand. Marion isn't really gone. I can still feel her with us. It's the same with Sirius, I just was too blind to notice it before now. It's probably true of my parents as well, only I was too young to remember what their presense really feels like." He turned to Hermione, who smiled, and leaned into him as they walked up to the portait hole. 

It wasn't really a consious decision, once they reached the stairs to the dormitories, that they both climbed the boys stairs,and soon they fell asleep curled up together in Harry's bed, content with nothing but each other's presence, for now. 


End file.
